The Knights play against the Storm in the Elimination Final this evening. The winner goes through to a Semi Final series of upto three games against the Blades (the other Semi Final is already set to be between the Flyers and Rangers). We have entered the serious end of the season. As such, now is a good opportunity to review the regular season just concluded, from both an individual and a team perspective.
My Season - GP 16 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +4 10/4/1/1 PIMs 14
I played my second entire season in defence, didn't miss a game and had no serious injury events. More than half of the season we have played with only three on defence. I have generally been on the first pairing and had more time on ice than my partners. My game has become much more physical, primarily crease clearing in the early season, graduating to board battles in the corners as time passed. A perhaps necessary consequence of developing my physical game has been an accumulation of penalties. I have also developed a tendency to join the rush and have skated coast to coast on a number of occasions. Apart from games where my health was suffering I have finished games skating stronger than at the start.
My decision making has improved through the season, particularly when without the puck. Examples include taking my man, covering the rush, controlling the gap and keeping them on the outside, maintaining coverage in front of the net, setting up on the blue line and general weak side play and have all been reasonable to good.
I have not been so consistent with the puck on my stick, still having a tendency to find the opposition D on the blue when trying to clear up the boards from our zone or to ice the puck when there isn't enough pressure to warrant this. More head-up play is probably my best tactic to adopt to counter these failings this late in the season.
The increased physical performance has come about due a much more coherent pre-season training schedule than last year, training through the mid-season break and intelligent dietary choices (especially on game day). My improved technique and reading of the play has come about through a combination of accumulating experience and making the majority of team training sessions. Personal and team training combined have led to improved confidence, smarter play and a good foundation to rely upon as we enter the playoffs.
The Knights - 4th on the ladder G 54 (3rd) PIMs 108 (2nd)* SA 245 (1st) GA 37 (4th)
*if Stewy's ridiculous game suspension for momentarily removing his helmet prior the handshake at the end of a game is discounted (it triggered a major shakeup amongst officials with the responsible referee losing his position as head ref), we come in at between 4th and 6th in the penalty rankings.
It has been a good season for the Knights, especially considering that our roster was depleted of Bacon and then Matt before the xmas break. We have a total of only eleven on the roster (plus Tommy the goalie) as we enter the playoffs, but are a fairly tight unit and usually field at least nine or ten skaters. By comparison, the Storm generally fields thirteen skaters (occasionally twelve) while the Blades and Flyers generally only have eight or nine.
The primary stat of significance to me as a defender is that we have allowed less shots on goal than any other team. We will need to continue to do this.
All in all, we have a competitive team who can push any of the other playoff teams and, puck gods smiling, beat them. Certainly the Blades aren't invulnerable should we make our way past the Storm this afternoon. IF we can keep healthy through the playoffs, we'll give them a shake.
Perhaps equally important, if we can keep the bulk of this team together for next season (and there are many signs that most if not all intend to return) and recruit a couple more useful rookies in the interim, then we will truly be a force to be reckoned with!
Let's go Knights!
Fridge
Sunday 31 January 2016
Friday 29 January 2016
Game Day - Rangers (5) d Knights (2)
After competing in two morning games of inline hockey at Gawler as part of the Vikings Cup tournament I made my way back to the Ice Arena to play in the Knights' final game of the regular season. We were taking on our old enemies, the Rangers, and the game would determine who had to play the elimination game against the Storm the following week before the playoffs proper commence.
We had ten skaters and Tommy in goal. This is almost as good as it gets for us, still being a player down from when Bacon and then Matt were taken from us. The Rangers iced twelve skaters plus their goalie. We had Justine managing the bench. She was assisted by Nick on the gate. The Rangers had three coaching staff.
I should have written this up shortly after the game as life has been busy since (will be a common 'problem' in coming weeks, alas) and the details blur very quickly. Therefore, as has become my practice on this blog, I will be more impressionistic than narrative in my style in what follows.
The Rangers scored against us pretty early, in my first shift. It was one on one as their forward crossed the blue near the boards, I was coming back from a more central position and should have had him covered but I lacked the urgency a D needs in moments like this and he got clear beneath me and took his shot. I put the goal down to my failure to engage properly, and the fact that I did so due the fact that my body hadn't yet awoken to the fact that I was playing my third hockey game of the day.
I'm not sure of the details of the play that led to their second goal, but do know that I was battling in front of our crease to keep our goalie clear. I think I achieved this aim, but took a couple stick blows to the helmet while doing it. My only real surprise was that, while the ref's saw the goal clear, they didn't see me getting hit around the head twice. Sigh.
We scored shortly after I hopped off the ice late in the first period.
I was on for their third goal, relatively early in the second period. Again, the shot came in from the outside and again I was holding up my man from crowding the crease. I was doing what I needed to do and didn't feel too guilty about it afterwards (same as the second goal).
About midway through the second period our young centre got deliberately boarded at full speed pretty well right in front of our bench. It was a mean and dirty hit and quite upsetting to see. Our centre played out the rest of the period on the wing and then didn't return to the game due back pain. The opposition guy copped a minor penalty for the hit. Unsurprisingly, the game acquired an edge from this moment on.
We'd been playing with four D and two lines prior to Baden's injury. From towards the end of the second period (when it became obvious he couldn't continue to play at all) we started playing with 3D. They scored two more goals before the end of the game, we scored one. I was on the ice for our goal (though uninvolved in any real fashion) but not theirs.
In the last period I played probably my best hockey, keeping the puck in their zone on a number of occasions by multiple interceptions, soccer skills, etc, clearing it from ours, taking them on along the boards and tying them up to the point of uselessness in front of goal. I also managed to pick up a two minute penalty for hooking with about twenty seconds to go (a nice way to end the season, in the penalty box!).
Perhaps the strongest memories were three different forwards of theirs getting upset at me for totally being concentrated on them when they were in the slot and not even caring where the puck was or what the play was doing. I've never before had any forward take exception to the fact that I do this, let alone voice it to me. All three took a moment out from our struggle to tell me where the play was, or where the puck was, and asked/told me to direct my attention there.
Two of the three I didn't even deign to reply except to give them a bit of a shove. My favorite personal memory was having the forward who'd put the illegal hit on our player look me in my eyes as I stood right up against and staring at him ask me, "What are you looking at?"
"You. You're special."
"The puck's over there," using his eyes to glance over my shoulder.
No reply. Shove.
"The play's over there!" Frustrated.
Shove. Stick lift.
The play moved on and we cleared it from our zone. The forward used this as his opportunity to back away from me and skate off.
"We'll be keeping a special eye out for you in future!" I skated off for the end of my shift. Indeed.
The other two gave me a big grin and congratulated me on an 'excellent game' during the handshake. The dirty player, on the other hand, didn't meet my eyes for the remainder of the game after our goalfront encounter (including when I was controlling the gap on him resulting in a successful poke check) and looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but there by the time I shook his hand (I wonder what others of the Knights had said to him by that point, I said nothing and was deadpan in expression).
GP 16 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 10/4/1/1 PIMs 14
Ice 4
We had ten skaters and Tommy in goal. This is almost as good as it gets for us, still being a player down from when Bacon and then Matt were taken from us. The Rangers iced twelve skaters plus their goalie. We had Justine managing the bench. She was assisted by Nick on the gate. The Rangers had three coaching staff.
I should have written this up shortly after the game as life has been busy since (will be a common 'problem' in coming weeks, alas) and the details blur very quickly. Therefore, as has become my practice on this blog, I will be more impressionistic than narrative in my style in what follows.
The Rangers scored against us pretty early, in my first shift. It was one on one as their forward crossed the blue near the boards, I was coming back from a more central position and should have had him covered but I lacked the urgency a D needs in moments like this and he got clear beneath me and took his shot. I put the goal down to my failure to engage properly, and the fact that I did so due the fact that my body hadn't yet awoken to the fact that I was playing my third hockey game of the day.
I'm not sure of the details of the play that led to their second goal, but do know that I was battling in front of our crease to keep our goalie clear. I think I achieved this aim, but took a couple stick blows to the helmet while doing it. My only real surprise was that, while the ref's saw the goal clear, they didn't see me getting hit around the head twice. Sigh.
We scored shortly after I hopped off the ice late in the first period.
I was on for their third goal, relatively early in the second period. Again, the shot came in from the outside and again I was holding up my man from crowding the crease. I was doing what I needed to do and didn't feel too guilty about it afterwards (same as the second goal).
About midway through the second period our young centre got deliberately boarded at full speed pretty well right in front of our bench. It was a mean and dirty hit and quite upsetting to see. Our centre played out the rest of the period on the wing and then didn't return to the game due back pain. The opposition guy copped a minor penalty for the hit. Unsurprisingly, the game acquired an edge from this moment on.
We'd been playing with four D and two lines prior to Baden's injury. From towards the end of the second period (when it became obvious he couldn't continue to play at all) we started playing with 3D. They scored two more goals before the end of the game, we scored one. I was on the ice for our goal (though uninvolved in any real fashion) but not theirs.
In the last period I played probably my best hockey, keeping the puck in their zone on a number of occasions by multiple interceptions, soccer skills, etc, clearing it from ours, taking them on along the boards and tying them up to the point of uselessness in front of goal. I also managed to pick up a two minute penalty for hooking with about twenty seconds to go (a nice way to end the season, in the penalty box!).
Perhaps the strongest memories were three different forwards of theirs getting upset at me for totally being concentrated on them when they were in the slot and not even caring where the puck was or what the play was doing. I've never before had any forward take exception to the fact that I do this, let alone voice it to me. All three took a moment out from our struggle to tell me where the play was, or where the puck was, and asked/told me to direct my attention there.
Two of the three I didn't even deign to reply except to give them a bit of a shove. My favorite personal memory was having the forward who'd put the illegal hit on our player look me in my eyes as I stood right up against and staring at him ask me, "What are you looking at?"
"You. You're special."
"The puck's over there," using his eyes to glance over my shoulder.
No reply. Shove.
"The play's over there!" Frustrated.
Shove. Stick lift.
The play moved on and we cleared it from our zone. The forward used this as his opportunity to back away from me and skate off.
"We'll be keeping a special eye out for you in future!" I skated off for the end of my shift. Indeed.
The other two gave me a big grin and congratulated me on an 'excellent game' during the handshake. The dirty player, on the other hand, didn't meet my eyes for the remainder of the game after our goalfront encounter (including when I was controlling the gap on him resulting in a successful poke check) and looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but there by the time I shook his hand (I wonder what others of the Knights had said to him by that point, I said nothing and was deadpan in expression).
GP 16 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 10/4/1/1 PIMs 14
Ice 4
Tuesday 26 January 2016
Game Day - Viking Cup Games 3 and 4
On Sunday morning I headed out to Gawler for the second half of the Viking Cup's round robin schedule. The early game was against the Shufflers and at midday we would take on the Rockers. At the end of that match the three teams would be seeded for their finals appearances, an elimination game between positions two and three, followed by a grand final between the winner of that game and the team that had come first during the round robin games.
I knew that I could not be in Gawler for the afternoon finals as I had to be back at the Ice Arena for the Knights final game of the regular season against the Rangers. So, the best I could do for my team was try and help them get first position on the ladder to maximise their chance for a later victory.
We opened the tally with a 4-0 win against the Shufflers. Good team effort on our part, especially as we had only five skaters (2 of whom were rookies, one of whom has a shoulder injury). I got an assist for our second goal in the first period, but much of my game was defensive in nature as I fed the forwards and kept it in the zone. I made it a point to cover the danger players of the Shufflers as they could each outskate all the others on our team. It was a totally fun game, no penalties or bad blood on anyone's part.
The second Wheelers game of the day at Gawler resulted in a 1-1 draw against the Rockers. If our team was about passing and positioning, the Rockers were mainly about strength and cunning. It was a very close fought game, 0-0 at the end of the first half and both teams tiring a bit. Each team scored in the final five minutes. We unfortunately were penalised for too many skaters on the rink with twenty seconds to go, however they only got one face off before the siren went so it wasn't too bad. Again, I spent much of my time picking up their loose skater through the game.
My greatest failing in both games was my passing, very often putting it straight into an opposing player rather than the intended target (though a surprising number did find the right person). I will have to be a little more conservative with my passing game, holding the puck and playing for position more than I did, when the regular season returns.
For me, it was a case of pack up my gear and hop in the car and drive back to Adelaide for the Knights game in the afternoon.
For the Wheelers, it was an elimination game against the Shufflers. Shufflers won that game, went on to lose against the Rockers in the Cup game. Sigh.
Inline 4
I knew that I could not be in Gawler for the afternoon finals as I had to be back at the Ice Arena for the Knights final game of the regular season against the Rangers. So, the best I could do for my team was try and help them get first position on the ladder to maximise their chance for a later victory.
We opened the tally with a 4-0 win against the Shufflers. Good team effort on our part, especially as we had only five skaters (2 of whom were rookies, one of whom has a shoulder injury). I got an assist for our second goal in the first period, but much of my game was defensive in nature as I fed the forwards and kept it in the zone. I made it a point to cover the danger players of the Shufflers as they could each outskate all the others on our team. It was a totally fun game, no penalties or bad blood on anyone's part.
The second Wheelers game of the day at Gawler resulted in a 1-1 draw against the Rockers. If our team was about passing and positioning, the Rockers were mainly about strength and cunning. It was a very close fought game, 0-0 at the end of the first half and both teams tiring a bit. Each team scored in the final five minutes. We unfortunately were penalised for too many skaters on the rink with twenty seconds to go, however they only got one face off before the siren went so it wasn't too bad. Again, I spent much of my time picking up their loose skater through the game.
My greatest failing in both games was my passing, very often putting it straight into an opposing player rather than the intended target (though a surprising number did find the right person). I will have to be a little more conservative with my passing game, holding the puck and playing for position more than I did, when the regular season returns.
For me, it was a case of pack up my gear and hop in the car and drive back to Adelaide for the Knights game in the afternoon.
For the Wheelers, it was an elimination game against the Shufflers. Shufflers won that game, went on to lose against the Rockers in the Cup game. Sigh.
Inline 4
Saturday 23 January 2016
Game Day - Viking Cup Games 1 and 2
I am enrolled for my first tournament, the Viking Cup. I am in the Second/Social Division, composed of three teams in total. We have six skaters and Matt the Goalie. The other teams are similarly composed. Most of the players are from Div 2 in the regular competition, though we have three rookies on our team who are all trying it out (all can play). The usual combinations have been mixed up for the occasion. On my team, only Nat and I are used to playing together. Our team is the Wheelers.
Games comprise two twelve minute halves, with a minute for half time and two minutes between games. There are two Junior divisions and two senior Divisions., each team plays two games today and two tomorrow, followed by finals in the afternoon (I'll have to miss the finals if the Wheelers make it, being required on the ice for the Knights clash against the Rangers).
Today we played the Shufflers first. It ended up 2-2 draw. I tied it up in the ninth minute of the second half with a ridiculous shot from the right boards only a foot or two above the redline. This was my only score for the day. I was a bit rusty overall, dropping the puck off my stick a couple of times most noticeably. Had a good battle with Darryl, a dual citizen from Blackwood, through the game (he plays with the Shufflers in the regular competition and have had a good tussle with him there also). We played most of our minutes with each other on the rink.
Our second game was five hours later against the Rockers. This was a harsher affair. We lost 1-2. Dallas scored his second goal of the tournament for us. I pushed myself harder in this game, and my energetics were still picking up by game end (peak HR of 193 was reached in the last shift and EPOC maxed out after the game was over). The Rockers have a greater emphasis on strength than the Shufflers (who were more about skill - we are about speed and position) and it was definitely a more physical game. Both teams were blocking a significant significant number of shots.
Most memorable moments for the day included my goal against the Shufflers and the general challenge of that game, wrestling Craig to the floor mid-rink as we twisted against each other's sticks, being beaten by him shortly after in a race to the boards and subsequent battle for body position, successfully blocking a shot by glancing it off my upper elbow guard (lower left bicep) and not even feeling it.
A fun day, with two more games scheduled for tomorrow morning before I hop into the car and drive an hour to the Ice Arena for the important last game of the season.
Inline 2
Games comprise two twelve minute halves, with a minute for half time and two minutes between games. There are two Junior divisions and two senior Divisions., each team plays two games today and two tomorrow, followed by finals in the afternoon (I'll have to miss the finals if the Wheelers make it, being required on the ice for the Knights clash against the Rangers).
Today we played the Shufflers first. It ended up 2-2 draw. I tied it up in the ninth minute of the second half with a ridiculous shot from the right boards only a foot or two above the redline. This was my only score for the day. I was a bit rusty overall, dropping the puck off my stick a couple of times most noticeably. Had a good battle with Darryl, a dual citizen from Blackwood, through the game (he plays with the Shufflers in the regular competition and have had a good tussle with him there also). We played most of our minutes with each other on the rink.
Our second game was five hours later against the Rockers. This was a harsher affair. We lost 1-2. Dallas scored his second goal of the tournament for us. I pushed myself harder in this game, and my energetics were still picking up by game end (peak HR of 193 was reached in the last shift and EPOC maxed out after the game was over). The Rockers have a greater emphasis on strength than the Shufflers (who were more about skill - we are about speed and position) and it was definitely a more physical game. Both teams were blocking a significant significant number of shots.
Most memorable moments for the day included my goal against the Shufflers and the general challenge of that game, wrestling Craig to the floor mid-rink as we twisted against each other's sticks, being beaten by him shortly after in a race to the boards and subsequent battle for body position, successfully blocking a shot by glancing it off my upper elbow guard (lower left bicep) and not even feeling it.
A fun day, with two more games scheduled for tomorrow morning before I hop into the car and drive an hour to the Ice Arena for the important last game of the season.
Inline 2
Game Day - Knights (2) d Flyers (1)
On Sunday night we played the Flyers for the second time this season. The Flyers are defending a premiership. We haven't beaten them in three seasons. They'd beaten us by five goals when we met before xmas. They had lost a couple of games recently and, for the first time since round two, been knocked out of first spot on the ladder (by the Blades, after their victory over us the night before). Therefore, we knew they'd be keener even than usual for a win.
Against this, we knew that if we are to avoid a playoff elimination game we had to win this one. Anything less would leave our playoff chances subject to the results of other games. So we also had a pretty good 'meta-reason' to win the game. The fact that we had ten skaters against their seven wasn't going to be as decisive as it ordinarily would have been as we were playing within twenty four hours of our shootout defeat to the Blades. Both teams are known as fairly aggressive. It was going to be a tough game.
We ran with four defencemen for the first two periods, switcing it up in the final period to only three on the rotation. I was on the ice for their goal, and for both of ours had only literally just stepped off the ice at the end of a shift as they went in.
From memory, they had us under severe attack in the first period, outshooting us about 10 to 2. In a sense we were lucky to be tied at 1-1, and owed the game at this stage to Tommy the Goalie (do teams owe every game they win to their goalie?). He was definitely on fire, stopping everything they could throw at him except a hard shot from the inside of the offensive dot which deflected just enough of the shaft of my stick go over the top of Tommy's glove and into the back of the net. I felt slightly responsible but those are the risks of getting in the way.
We went up by a goal in the second period, which was much more even in terms of shots than the first had been. The game was being fought out significantly in the neutral zone and I was getting an edge on their lesser players around our goalfront, especially as some of their fancier skaters realised that I didn't need to be as good a skater as they were to screw up their plans. Similarly, their larger more bullish players were beginning to understand that I was still willing to take them on and was willing to work hard to put myself into a position of advantage to do so.
Probably the most heart stopping moment I had on the bench was when one of their larger wingers found himself on a breakaway 1 on 0 against our goalie, and blew the shot. Go Tommy! Ealier in the period the same winger had started tapping my stick to irritate me, but I had tapped him back and we had just got to the point where a ref was skating over in case he had to get between us when I skated off with a small moral victory under my belt. I'm not great fan of bullyish intimidation, so I enjoyed this fellow fluffing his shot later.
Both teams were physically tiring by the end of the second period, though you could guarantee we'd all come out strong after a couple minutes rest and it would boil down to a battle of wills in the final few minutes. Which is the way it turned out to be.
The game's pace picked up again in the third period, with strong forays being made by both sides and good goal keeping at both ends. Penalties began to flow, but they tended to be matching and thus there was no outsized disparity such as the last period had seen (when we had killed off about at minute at 5 on 3, and then the remainder of the regular powerplay).
Entering the final minutes I was pretty convinced that, as tired as we all were, they would be battling the effects of fatigue on their decision making abilities as well as, in their less conditioned players at least, the effects of 'jelly legs' due having only seven skaters. Against this, they were a more well drilled unit, with back passing forwards, late trailing snipers, set plays at face offs and a history of winning, so we battened down the hatches and put in our hardest minutes of the game.
For me, this was perhaps typified best in the following three incidents. In the first, I blocked a shot by closing the space on the same forward who had deflected one into the net in the first period, in an almost identical situation (I'd also blocked a low shot in the second, with the front of my boot (which stung a little for awhile)).
The second incident occured as they came in on one of several forays on our right wing resulting in our centre battling with theirs on the boards. Their winger was waiting several feet away to take the plunder. I knew he was a slick skater and had a good snapshot, so proceeded to involve myself with him to the point that, as soon as the puck was in our reach, he was on the ice. He started to complain aloud to me, so I told him to 'stop your whining' as I skated off after the puck to clear it.
The third was on the opposite boards, when I was first to the puck and consequently became involved in a board tussle. I did my best just to hold the puck in, push it forward. He, on the other hand, was trying to strip it and concentrating more on me than the puck. As a consequence, the butt end of his stick ended up in my sternum with some force just as the whistle stopped play for a roughing penalty against my opponent.
I saw out the game on the ice, almost in a penalty killing role as they pulled their goalie with a half minute to go (we'd kept the puck in their end for at least a couple minutes before that).
It was a sweet victory indeed.
Our team game was more measured than it has been before, more deliberate passes finding their target, more holding onto the puck to make smarter decisions, a greater willingess to carry it if opportunity presented, less undisciplined play, smoother line changes, greater support, better breakouts (even I carried it behind our goal at least three times, on one of those occasions even doing a reverse of direction to shake the forechecking forward). I think our coach would be reasonably proud.
I was pretty happy with my game. I lost my edges a lost less than the night before, got several shots off (including a couple that ended in the goalie's glove), did some nice breakout passes, managed to contain their best forward and disarmed the others, stood protectively over our goalie on a number of plays. I was surprised to see at the end of the game that my average heart rate and VO2 were both significantly less than the night before, the effort had seemed just as intense.
There's a lesson in that, what with a heavy hockey weekend coming up (four short inline games at the Viking Cup, followed by the final game of regular season on the ice, when we play the Rangers in a game of importance to both teams as we head into playoffs).
GP 15 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +6 10/3/3/1 PIMs 12
Ice 3
Against this, we knew that if we are to avoid a playoff elimination game we had to win this one. Anything less would leave our playoff chances subject to the results of other games. So we also had a pretty good 'meta-reason' to win the game. The fact that we had ten skaters against their seven wasn't going to be as decisive as it ordinarily would have been as we were playing within twenty four hours of our shootout defeat to the Blades. Both teams are known as fairly aggressive. It was going to be a tough game.
We ran with four defencemen for the first two periods, switcing it up in the final period to only three on the rotation. I was on the ice for their goal, and for both of ours had only literally just stepped off the ice at the end of a shift as they went in.
From memory, they had us under severe attack in the first period, outshooting us about 10 to 2. In a sense we were lucky to be tied at 1-1, and owed the game at this stage to Tommy the Goalie (do teams owe every game they win to their goalie?). He was definitely on fire, stopping everything they could throw at him except a hard shot from the inside of the offensive dot which deflected just enough of the shaft of my stick go over the top of Tommy's glove and into the back of the net. I felt slightly responsible but those are the risks of getting in the way.
We went up by a goal in the second period, which was much more even in terms of shots than the first had been. The game was being fought out significantly in the neutral zone and I was getting an edge on their lesser players around our goalfront, especially as some of their fancier skaters realised that I didn't need to be as good a skater as they were to screw up their plans. Similarly, their larger more bullish players were beginning to understand that I was still willing to take them on and was willing to work hard to put myself into a position of advantage to do so.
Probably the most heart stopping moment I had on the bench was when one of their larger wingers found himself on a breakaway 1 on 0 against our goalie, and blew the shot. Go Tommy! Ealier in the period the same winger had started tapping my stick to irritate me, but I had tapped him back and we had just got to the point where a ref was skating over in case he had to get between us when I skated off with a small moral victory under my belt. I'm not great fan of bullyish intimidation, so I enjoyed this fellow fluffing his shot later.
Both teams were physically tiring by the end of the second period, though you could guarantee we'd all come out strong after a couple minutes rest and it would boil down to a battle of wills in the final few minutes. Which is the way it turned out to be.
The game's pace picked up again in the third period, with strong forays being made by both sides and good goal keeping at both ends. Penalties began to flow, but they tended to be matching and thus there was no outsized disparity such as the last period had seen (when we had killed off about at minute at 5 on 3, and then the remainder of the regular powerplay).
Entering the final minutes I was pretty convinced that, as tired as we all were, they would be battling the effects of fatigue on their decision making abilities as well as, in their less conditioned players at least, the effects of 'jelly legs' due having only seven skaters. Against this, they were a more well drilled unit, with back passing forwards, late trailing snipers, set plays at face offs and a history of winning, so we battened down the hatches and put in our hardest minutes of the game.
For me, this was perhaps typified best in the following three incidents. In the first, I blocked a shot by closing the space on the same forward who had deflected one into the net in the first period, in an almost identical situation (I'd also blocked a low shot in the second, with the front of my boot (which stung a little for awhile)).
The second incident occured as they came in on one of several forays on our right wing resulting in our centre battling with theirs on the boards. Their winger was waiting several feet away to take the plunder. I knew he was a slick skater and had a good snapshot, so proceeded to involve myself with him to the point that, as soon as the puck was in our reach, he was on the ice. He started to complain aloud to me, so I told him to 'stop your whining' as I skated off after the puck to clear it.
The third was on the opposite boards, when I was first to the puck and consequently became involved in a board tussle. I did my best just to hold the puck in, push it forward. He, on the other hand, was trying to strip it and concentrating more on me than the puck. As a consequence, the butt end of his stick ended up in my sternum with some force just as the whistle stopped play for a roughing penalty against my opponent.
I saw out the game on the ice, almost in a penalty killing role as they pulled their goalie with a half minute to go (we'd kept the puck in their end for at least a couple minutes before that).
It was a sweet victory indeed.
Our team game was more measured than it has been before, more deliberate passes finding their target, more holding onto the puck to make smarter decisions, a greater willingess to carry it if opportunity presented, less undisciplined play, smoother line changes, greater support, better breakouts (even I carried it behind our goal at least three times, on one of those occasions even doing a reverse of direction to shake the forechecking forward). I think our coach would be reasonably proud.
I was pretty happy with my game. I lost my edges a lost less than the night before, got several shots off (including a couple that ended in the goalie's glove), did some nice breakout passes, managed to contain their best forward and disarmed the others, stood protectively over our goalie on a number of plays. I was surprised to see at the end of the game that my average heart rate and VO2 were both significantly less than the night before, the effort had seemed just as intense.
There's a lesson in that, what with a heavy hockey weekend coming up (four short inline games at the Viking Cup, followed by the final game of regular season on the ice, when we play the Rangers in a game of importance to both teams as we head into playoffs).
GP 15 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +6 10/3/3/1 PIMs 12
Ice 3
Sunday 17 January 2016
Game Day - Blades (5) d Knights (4) SO
We lost last night's game in a shootout, having first surrendered a first period lead of 2-0 and then, in the third, struggling to score an equaliser to even get to a shootout. In that sense, it was a disappointing outing. Part of the disappointment arises from the fact that I was involved with three of their goals, albeit being on the ice for all of ours also. On the other hand, I/we can play better than we did and as a result I am pretty certain that we can beat this team should we meet them in the playoffs.
We had nine skaters again, same as the Blades.
My takeaway lessons from the game mainly centre around the goals that we allowed when I was on the ice. For the first, I was backing in and keeping their guy on the outside. I could maybe have closed the gap on him a little but was playing conservative. I'd only picked him up late (as he entered the zone) due fact my partner further up had been caught flat footed and I was picking up the pieces. The shot went in from above the hashmarks, probably just above the dot. I don't think that any real blame attaches to me for this one.
The second goal was one where I had inside position between winger and goal, had kept him from screening our goalie, had my stick under his as the pass came in from the corner, and yet still totally failed to disrupt the subsequent shot. A sticklift or a good shove would have been all it took to neutralise the eventual scorer.
The third was one that was fairly regretable. I'd pulled up at our post as our centre carried the puck behind the goal. Somehow he lost his footing and went down, to be pounced on by a pursuing forward. I dropped back and was shouting at our guy to 'get up', trying to step over him to get back in front of the net as the forward steamed off. I was still emerging from behind the net when the pass came in to the open winger in front of the open goal (Tommy was covering the shot). It was especially painful to watch from my position because I knew exactly where I would have been if not snarled up behind the net.
Lest it seem like it was all doom and gloom, it wasn't. I blocked a couple shots solidly, helped kill off their one power play, tied up a forward in front of our net several times, carried and reset several times, played ping pong on the blue line at least once, took several shots of which two ended up in the mitt and, most gratifyingly, seemed to get a lot of passes onto a friendly stick (generally board passes, though not always). I iced it once on a long pass that sailed past a dreaming forward who wasn't watching the play (frustrating).
Conditioning held up again; peak HR of 195 (avg 170), EPOC of 109 ml/kg, VO2 of 38 ml/kg/min. What will be really interesting is whether I can replicate this again tomorrow, and at the same time play smarter deep in our own zone, in what is arguably the most important game of our season.
GP 14 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +7 9/3/1/1 PIMs 12
Ice - 2
We had nine skaters again, same as the Blades.
My takeaway lessons from the game mainly centre around the goals that we allowed when I was on the ice. For the first, I was backing in and keeping their guy on the outside. I could maybe have closed the gap on him a little but was playing conservative. I'd only picked him up late (as he entered the zone) due fact my partner further up had been caught flat footed and I was picking up the pieces. The shot went in from above the hashmarks, probably just above the dot. I don't think that any real blame attaches to me for this one.
The second goal was one where I had inside position between winger and goal, had kept him from screening our goalie, had my stick under his as the pass came in from the corner, and yet still totally failed to disrupt the subsequent shot. A sticklift or a good shove would have been all it took to neutralise the eventual scorer.
The third was one that was fairly regretable. I'd pulled up at our post as our centre carried the puck behind the goal. Somehow he lost his footing and went down, to be pounced on by a pursuing forward. I dropped back and was shouting at our guy to 'get up', trying to step over him to get back in front of the net as the forward steamed off. I was still emerging from behind the net when the pass came in to the open winger in front of the open goal (Tommy was covering the shot). It was especially painful to watch from my position because I knew exactly where I would have been if not snarled up behind the net.
Lest it seem like it was all doom and gloom, it wasn't. I blocked a couple shots solidly, helped kill off their one power play, tied up a forward in front of our net several times, carried and reset several times, played ping pong on the blue line at least once, took several shots of which two ended up in the mitt and, most gratifyingly, seemed to get a lot of passes onto a friendly stick (generally board passes, though not always). I iced it once on a long pass that sailed past a dreaming forward who wasn't watching the play (frustrating).
Conditioning held up again; peak HR of 195 (avg 170), EPOC of 109 ml/kg, VO2 of 38 ml/kg/min. What will be really interesting is whether I can replicate this again tomorrow, and at the same time play smarter deep in our own zone, in what is arguably the most important game of our season.
GP 14 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +7 9/3/1/1 PIMs 12
Ice - 2
Saturday 16 January 2016
Game Day - Knights (3) d Predators (2)
A good win to the Knights on our return to the ice from mid-season xmas break. Also, to break in our brand new jerseys, complete with names on the backs of them (this is a sought after milestone in its own right to me, having my own named jersey). We had nine skaters. This was a couple more than I'd expected and very welcome as the Pred's had eleven. We had Tommy in goal.
I played my usual role in defence though, being the only regular defender present had to play a more conservative game than perhaps I normally would have. Even so, I was directly tied up in the (non) plays which resulted in both of their goals early in the second period. On the first, I was backing up from their carrying forward and as I crossed the blue line I dropped my guard on him due the fact that my rookie partner made a play onto him and I therefore started looking for another assignment so that we weren't both tied up on the one player. The attacker utilised the momentary confusion created to put on the breaks, creating more space to take an unexpected shot that sailed through.
Their second goal was put through not long afterwards. Again, confusion between me and the rookie. This time, I was on the bench and watching the play deep in our zone when the D who was coming off came in exhausted from the forward lines, totally outside my field of vision, and several valuable seconds were therefore wasted before I was able to skate into our zone and the action. By the time I got there they'd released a shot and scored again.
We put in our first goal late in the second period. I wasn't closely watching the play, having just passed it up ice to get us into our zone. I had just stepped off the ice to the bench when our score went in. We went in at the second intermission 2-1 down, but fairly confident due the fact that we had put more shots on goal than they had and seemed to be skating stronger (despite having fewer skaters).
The third period was hard hockey. We scored early in the period to tie it up at 2-2 and then it was a game of punch and counter punch until we put another in with about two minutes to go. Almost immediately afterwards Stewey took a boarding penalty and we had to play out the entirety of the closing minutes in our own zone a man down against six skaters (they'd pulled their goalie). There were about six faceoffs in that small amount of time and it was a blessed relief when the final siren went.
I took a hooking penalty early in the third, playing catch up to one of their fast skaters who almost had a breakaway. I managed to impede him by grabbing his stick with mine and keeping it elevated as we raced for the puck and had no complaints about the penalty when the whistle went. Importantly for me, they didn't score on the powerplay. Mine was only one of three which we took in the final period. Not something we wish to repeat in the next few games against more disciplined forward units.
The Preds didn't feature a strong forecheck and thus on occasion allowed me time to hold the puck for a stretch pass to the forward blue line or carry it up past the centreline before passing it on.
The defence game
Early in the first period I had a crunching collision with one of their rushing wingers shortly after he'd crossed the blue. Not quite sure now how it came about but I do recall being faced with a choice and choosing not to surrender the ice as I saw him barreling into the same ice I was heading to. So, we both landed heavily on the ice (I was up and off pretty quickly, I gathered that he felt he'd been blitzed and was hence a bit delayed).
Later in the period I spent an entire shift holding the blue line, sprinting to cover both sides and the centre, finding time to pinch forward and take one of our team's only two shots for the period (they got off seven) and, on the one occasion I let the puck cross back into the neutral zone, I still managed to collect it and hold it until everyone was back on side before passing it forward again. Quite a shift.
I was described as 'tenacious' as I returned to the bench at the end of a shift late in the second period. I had spent the whole shift covering the D zone, alternating between racing to the corners and holding station in front of the creaset, blocking shooting lanes from the point, directing traffic as last man back while holding up the tide by controlling the gap. I thought being a 'Tenacious D' is a great thing and did my best to keep it going for the rest of the game. We outshot them10-7 this period, which perhaps gave rise to a certain confidence even though we were down 2-1 at the end of it.
The final period was great fun, especially once the game had been tied and the pressure increased with every minute. Their senior players pushed forward, exerting their size and strength. I had one such try to dominate the netfront while his comrade fought for, and eventually won, possession of the puck in the corner. I quickly assessed my opponent as not being easily susceptable to simply being shoved out of the danger zone, saved my ferocity until it came time to prevent him screening our goalie or otherwise interfering with our defence. I totally tied him up for the important five or so seconds, leaving him unexpectedly impotent after he'd thought he'd have it all over me.
The other key play I recall in the third (besides blocking a shot with my armoured thigh) involved losing my footing in the slot during the final desperate half minute, pulling the puck in with my stick as I got to my knees, sensing three opponents swooping on me from different directions while my team mates scambled back towards me and, while still on my knees, protecting the puck, deking it (!) around an opponent's questing blade, and then tapping it with a deft backhand slowly into the corner to use up a few more valuable seconds.
We outshot them 10-6 in the the third period, 22-20 for the game. Considering we were down two of our regular defenders for the evening, everyone rose to the occasion. We will have to step it up another notch in the coming weeks, the teams we face play a harder game than that which we've faced recently.
I played my most consistent game to date on the ice, keeping up a high energy level for the entire game. My increased general level of fitness, specifically combined with my training program over the previous two weeks, allowed for a much improved return to the ice than last year's effort coming out of the mid season break. Perhaps most hearteningly, I wasn't the only one who showed signs of having made some effort towards play off fitness.
GP 13 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +6 9/3/1 12 PIMs
Ice 1
I played my usual role in defence though, being the only regular defender present had to play a more conservative game than perhaps I normally would have. Even so, I was directly tied up in the (non) plays which resulted in both of their goals early in the second period. On the first, I was backing up from their carrying forward and as I crossed the blue line I dropped my guard on him due the fact that my rookie partner made a play onto him and I therefore started looking for another assignment so that we weren't both tied up on the one player. The attacker utilised the momentary confusion created to put on the breaks, creating more space to take an unexpected shot that sailed through.
Their second goal was put through not long afterwards. Again, confusion between me and the rookie. This time, I was on the bench and watching the play deep in our zone when the D who was coming off came in exhausted from the forward lines, totally outside my field of vision, and several valuable seconds were therefore wasted before I was able to skate into our zone and the action. By the time I got there they'd released a shot and scored again.
We put in our first goal late in the second period. I wasn't closely watching the play, having just passed it up ice to get us into our zone. I had just stepped off the ice to the bench when our score went in. We went in at the second intermission 2-1 down, but fairly confident due the fact that we had put more shots on goal than they had and seemed to be skating stronger (despite having fewer skaters).
The third period was hard hockey. We scored early in the period to tie it up at 2-2 and then it was a game of punch and counter punch until we put another in with about two minutes to go. Almost immediately afterwards Stewey took a boarding penalty and we had to play out the entirety of the closing minutes in our own zone a man down against six skaters (they'd pulled their goalie). There were about six faceoffs in that small amount of time and it was a blessed relief when the final siren went.
I took a hooking penalty early in the third, playing catch up to one of their fast skaters who almost had a breakaway. I managed to impede him by grabbing his stick with mine and keeping it elevated as we raced for the puck and had no complaints about the penalty when the whistle went. Importantly for me, they didn't score on the powerplay. Mine was only one of three which we took in the final period. Not something we wish to repeat in the next few games against more disciplined forward units.
The Preds didn't feature a strong forecheck and thus on occasion allowed me time to hold the puck for a stretch pass to the forward blue line or carry it up past the centreline before passing it on.
The defence game
Early in the first period I had a crunching collision with one of their rushing wingers shortly after he'd crossed the blue. Not quite sure now how it came about but I do recall being faced with a choice and choosing not to surrender the ice as I saw him barreling into the same ice I was heading to. So, we both landed heavily on the ice (I was up and off pretty quickly, I gathered that he felt he'd been blitzed and was hence a bit delayed).
Later in the period I spent an entire shift holding the blue line, sprinting to cover both sides and the centre, finding time to pinch forward and take one of our team's only two shots for the period (they got off seven) and, on the one occasion I let the puck cross back into the neutral zone, I still managed to collect it and hold it until everyone was back on side before passing it forward again. Quite a shift.
I was described as 'tenacious' as I returned to the bench at the end of a shift late in the second period. I had spent the whole shift covering the D zone, alternating between racing to the corners and holding station in front of the creaset, blocking shooting lanes from the point, directing traffic as last man back while holding up the tide by controlling the gap. I thought being a 'Tenacious D' is a great thing and did my best to keep it going for the rest of the game. We outshot them10-7 this period, which perhaps gave rise to a certain confidence even though we were down 2-1 at the end of it.
The final period was great fun, especially once the game had been tied and the pressure increased with every minute. Their senior players pushed forward, exerting their size and strength. I had one such try to dominate the netfront while his comrade fought for, and eventually won, possession of the puck in the corner. I quickly assessed my opponent as not being easily susceptable to simply being shoved out of the danger zone, saved my ferocity until it came time to prevent him screening our goalie or otherwise interfering with our defence. I totally tied him up for the important five or so seconds, leaving him unexpectedly impotent after he'd thought he'd have it all over me.
The other key play I recall in the third (besides blocking a shot with my armoured thigh) involved losing my footing in the slot during the final desperate half minute, pulling the puck in with my stick as I got to my knees, sensing three opponents swooping on me from different directions while my team mates scambled back towards me and, while still on my knees, protecting the puck, deking it (!) around an opponent's questing blade, and then tapping it with a deft backhand slowly into the corner to use up a few more valuable seconds.
We outshot them 10-6 in the the third period, 22-20 for the game. Considering we were down two of our regular defenders for the evening, everyone rose to the occasion. We will have to step it up another notch in the coming weeks, the teams we face play a harder game than that which we've faced recently.
I played my most consistent game to date on the ice, keeping up a high energy level for the entire game. My increased general level of fitness, specifically combined with my training program over the previous two weeks, allowed for a much improved return to the ice than last year's effort coming out of the mid season break. Perhaps most hearteningly, I wasn't the only one who showed signs of having made some effort towards play off fitness.
GP 13 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +6 9/3/1 12 PIMs
Ice 1
Sunday 10 January 2016
Mid Season Activity
After the first couple weeks of the ice hockey season I reduced my off-rink training and conditioning to zero, relying on regular games and practices to keep me in shape for the next two months. When you look at my performance stats (to be included in a later post) you will see that this wasn't a bad approach, indicators of fitness and conditioning continued to improve up until the three week long mid-season break.
I recalled from last season that the return to the ice after xmas/new year was a terribly painful experience, weeks of sloth and feasting will do that to a person. I had resolved not to do that this year. So, I took a week off of all non-festive activity over xmas, and then returned to a brief program tailored to keeping a minimal degree of conditioning for the return to the ice.
Thus, despite traveling over the countryside (everywhere from a week in the South East of our state, to a long weekend in the mid north) I have been disciplined enough to make the most of what opportunities have presented themselves and, in two weeks, have been for three decent runs and had four sessions each with the core exercises and the weights, mixing it up with long walks with our pup and sports sessions with the kids (eg. an hour of soccer here, a bit of cricket there).
A couple observations leap to mind when I look back at these two weeks:
1. I seem to have picked up where I left off from the pre-season. Thus, although the weights I am lifting and the techniques used are geared to muscle endurance rather than mass, they are what they were when I peaked and tailed off in into the season. Also, the times and heart rate / VO2 data from my runs have continued to improve over what I was achieving prior to the start of the season. In other words, I maintained strength and gained in conditioning over the first half of the season and am probably better prepared now than I had been at the start for what is to come.
2. It was tremendous fun, and added a bit of structure to what otherwise could have been three weeks of guilty sloth.
The plan is, subject to on-rink training schedules, to continue to push it with the off-rink training for the next three weeks (tailing off in the third as playoffs approach) with an emphasis on improved endurance with the upper body muscles (perhaps pushing out to a third circuit if I can be regular enough), increased strength in the core (with the continued introduction of new exercises to the routine) and continued anaerobic development and increased VO2 through my running (primarily through the routinisation of fartlek training techniques).
For the record, in my core exercises I have introduced single leg balances and forward planks.
Also for the record, I had lost almost four kilograms over the first half of the season and will have to monitor this more closely so I can take corrective action as required. I am pretty lean at the moment, but there isn't much more to lose!
I recalled from last season that the return to the ice after xmas/new year was a terribly painful experience, weeks of sloth and feasting will do that to a person. I had resolved not to do that this year. So, I took a week off of all non-festive activity over xmas, and then returned to a brief program tailored to keeping a minimal degree of conditioning for the return to the ice.
Thus, despite traveling over the countryside (everywhere from a week in the South East of our state, to a long weekend in the mid north) I have been disciplined enough to make the most of what opportunities have presented themselves and, in two weeks, have been for three decent runs and had four sessions each with the core exercises and the weights, mixing it up with long walks with our pup and sports sessions with the kids (eg. an hour of soccer here, a bit of cricket there).
A couple observations leap to mind when I look back at these two weeks:
1. I seem to have picked up where I left off from the pre-season. Thus, although the weights I am lifting and the techniques used are geared to muscle endurance rather than mass, they are what they were when I peaked and tailed off in into the season. Also, the times and heart rate / VO2 data from my runs have continued to improve over what I was achieving prior to the start of the season. In other words, I maintained strength and gained in conditioning over the first half of the season and am probably better prepared now than I had been at the start for what is to come.
2. It was tremendous fun, and added a bit of structure to what otherwise could have been three weeks of guilty sloth.
The plan is, subject to on-rink training schedules, to continue to push it with the off-rink training for the next three weeks (tailing off in the third as playoffs approach) with an emphasis on improved endurance with the upper body muscles (perhaps pushing out to a third circuit if I can be regular enough), increased strength in the core (with the continued introduction of new exercises to the routine) and continued anaerobic development and increased VO2 through my running (primarily through the routinisation of fartlek training techniques).
For the record, in my core exercises I have introduced single leg balances and forward planks.
Also for the record, I had lost almost four kilograms over the first half of the season and will have to monitor this more closely so I can take corrective action as required. I am pretty lean at the moment, but there isn't much more to lose!
Monday 4 January 2016
2016 - Welcome!
It's a month and a half since I last posted, the first lengthy break I've had from posting on this blog since it began. It's funny how being slack with one game day review leads to a procrastinating guilty failure to blog the next, and the training session, and the milestones, and before you know it months can go by and then, no doubt, you can think 'why bother?' and that becomes the end of it all. So, to avoid the last terminal step, I've posted this up in an effort to catch up with where my journey's taken me, and kick start the blogging process into the new year of skating, hockey and general all-round fitness and fun!
Ice Hockey Games Summary
Five games since last posting:
Rangers (2) d Knights (1) 4 PIMs
Knights (5) d Kings (3) +2
Knights (3) d Storm (1)
Knights (9) d Generals (4) +2 0-2-2 2 PIMs
Knights (3) d Sharks (1) +1
GP 12 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +6 8/3/1 10 PIMS
The Knights are a game clear in 3rd position on the ladder. Starting on January 10th we play four games over three weeks to finish off the regular season. We haven't quite clinched a playoff spot but are getting close. I've continued to play defence, generally on the first pairing (when we have pairs and are not just rotating between three of us).
Roller Hockey Game Summary
Three games since last posting:
Mavericks (11) d Shufflers (0) +6 4-1-5 2 PIMS
Snipers (5) d Mavericks (4) 2-0-2
Mavericks (5) d Shufflers (4) +2 3-1-4
GP 6 G 16 A 9 Pts 25 +19 5/1/0 6 PIMS
The Mavericks are on top of the ladder due a superior goal tally and difference, though tied on points with the Snipers. We have four games left in regular season, starting in February, followed by an elimination game and (hopefully) a grand final. I am leading the Division in points, goals and assists. For the first time since I played, all four teams have a degree of parity at the moment and it is a really good competition.
On-rink training Summary
4 inline training sessions at Gawler, the most recent being on 2 December.
8 ice training sessions, the most recent being 15 December.
2 public ice skating sessions, the most recent being 30 December.
I'll deal with my off-rink training, fitness data, and general thoughts in a later post. For now, I'll leave it all by saying that I was on the ice 74 times over 2015 and in my inline skates 65 times. It was a pretty good year!
Ice 74
Inline 65
Ice Hockey Games Summary
Five games since last posting:
Rangers (2) d Knights (1) 4 PIMs
Knights (5) d Kings (3) +2
Knights (3) d Storm (1)
Knights (9) d Generals (4) +2 0-2-2 2 PIMs
Knights (3) d Sharks (1) +1
GP 12 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +6 8/3/1 10 PIMS
The Knights are a game clear in 3rd position on the ladder. Starting on January 10th we play four games over three weeks to finish off the regular season. We haven't quite clinched a playoff spot but are getting close. I've continued to play defence, generally on the first pairing (when we have pairs and are not just rotating between three of us).
Roller Hockey Game Summary
Three games since last posting:
Mavericks (11) d Shufflers (0) +6 4-1-5 2 PIMS
Snipers (5) d Mavericks (4) 2-0-2
Mavericks (5) d Shufflers (4) +2 3-1-4
GP 6 G 16 A 9 Pts 25 +19 5/1/0 6 PIMS
The Mavericks are on top of the ladder due a superior goal tally and difference, though tied on points with the Snipers. We have four games left in regular season, starting in February, followed by an elimination game and (hopefully) a grand final. I am leading the Division in points, goals and assists. For the first time since I played, all four teams have a degree of parity at the moment and it is a really good competition.
On-rink training Summary
4 inline training sessions at Gawler, the most recent being on 2 December.
8 ice training sessions, the most recent being 15 December.
2 public ice skating sessions, the most recent being 30 December.
I'll deal with my off-rink training, fitness data, and general thoughts in a later post. For now, I'll leave it all by saying that I was on the ice 74 times over 2015 and in my inline skates 65 times. It was a pretty good year!
Ice 74
Inline 65
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